Deceit in a professional atmosphere is not something I am familiar
or comfortable with as I will discuss later on.
I understand it is a common occurrence in the business world, but I wish
it didn’t have to be and I strive to ensure that the Navy maintains an
integrity filled work force. With that
being said, I am deceived at least weekly with some of my students as their
advisor. During the course of an
interview with them, I might ask them how their grades are going. 95% of the time I’ll hear the same thing: “things
are going great… no problems what so ever.”
Unfortunately, they are just telling me what I want to hear in order for
me to stay off of them. I find out they weren’t
truthful when grades/early alerts come out.
Then I get to call them out on it and counsel them on being honest when
asked a direct question. While I can
comfortably say that I can do this at work since I strive for excellence in
integrity, it might be a little hypocritical of me given I routinely embellish
the amount of time it takes for me to do my homework with my wife. I know that some of these assignments take
around an hour or so but I’ll add 30 minutes when talking with my wife for a
couple of reasons. First off, I honestly
don’t want to get her expectations up by promising that I will be done when I
know I won’t be. Secondly (and a little
more dishonesty seeps in), if I finish early I can have 30 minutes to myself
either reading on the net or playing some computer games. This misinformation is exactly the little
white lies that occurs commonly in the business world – it’s nothing personal,
just business.
I think
the book offers some great methods to guard against deception. I personally use verbal and nonverbal cues
when looking for deceit with my students.
When someone usually maintains eye contact then suddenly looks away when
discussing what they are not telling the truth about, that’s a sure give
away. Additionally, things like people
repeating the question, mumbling, or pausing a little longer to formulate a
response is usually an indication that whatever follows isn’t 100% accurate. I find that smart phones are an outstanding tool
for everyday conversation and embellishing.
When I think I hear something that is a little too good to be true, a
quick fact search via Google can quickly confirm or refute the discussion
point. Last but not least, I think my
favorite way to check the facts is by asking direct questions. If you provide an ambiguous question, you
open yourself up to less than truthful responses. Rather than asking “how are things” with my
students, I straight ask them, “how is your ____ class going; are you going to
get any early/midterm alerts” etc. With
these pointed questions, they either answer truthfully or lie.
While I
have very limited business experience (read none), I understand that misleading
people during negotiations is somewhat accepted, especially in eastern cultures
(where business is pretty much seen as war, and all is fair in love and
war). With that being said, there is no
room for misleading people in my line of work for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, my community prides
itself on honesty and integrity as it is a vital aspect of nuclear safety. There is zero room for anything except cold
hard facts while working with nuclear power.
If you mess up, you fess up or risk being kicked out. Secondly, subs are filled with incredibly
smart people who may just be able to call out your misinformation right then
and there - I was amazed on a daily basis by how much people would know about
the happenings going on in the boat. At
the very least, they will probably research any factoid or perceived
misinformation afterwards. If it is
identified that you were not truthful, your reputation is instantly and almost
permanently harmed (especially in the engine room where pristine integrity is
crucial). If a senior officer catches
you, you can forget about him/her ever trusting you again and the same goes for
enlisted guys and gals also. What I am
essentially saying is that while I’m in the Navy, you can forget about me embellishing
any fact in order to gain leverage – I’ll be truthful 100% of the time, thank
you!
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